The Al-Azhar Observatory for Countering Extremism emphasized that there are fair voices in the West, including the English writer, Karen Armstrong, who testify to the facts about Islam and its tolerance, and have demonstrated the great morals of its noble Prophet, peace be upon him.
The Observatory demanded, in a report recently published on its website, that all the wise people of the West and the East should be fair in their understanding of the tolerant message of Islam, and the greatness of its teachings that came to humanity with all good, and paid for everything that violates them, and threatens the safety and security of their children.
He added that those fair voices derive their positive energies from the historical facts and objective study of the history of Islam and its texts, and the biography of the Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his honorable companions, pointing out that Karen Armstrong is among the most prominent of those fair voices that confirmed the universality of Islam and the tolerance of his Prophet, peace be upon him, and reflected that In her books.
He explained that she is a historian and researcher in the field of "the history of religions". She has books translated into several languages, through which she explained in a smooth manner Islamic concepts and doctrines that are difficult for the Western street man to understand, as she talked about the biography of the Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him and the Holy Quran, and participated in the production Three documentaries on Islam, noting that its media appearance started after the events of September 11, 2001, as it was keen to convey to the world the "reality of Islam" objectively and transparently, facing the stereotypes and myths spread about Islam, which made it known to its positive outlook on issues related to Islam.
He said that Armstrong expressed in one of her writings the civilizational and human shift initiated by Islam, and his principles that he brought, saying: “Muhammad was a man facing a very difficult situation where people were dying in endless conflicts, hopeless, and dominated by bloody revenge. And soon they fall into a cycle of violence and war, and when this society was moving towards the abyss, Muhammad came to give them hope, so he remained 23 years spreading peace and spreading new hopes in the Arabian Peninsula, until it became a new beacon for the whole world ».
He added that she affirmed that Islam is a religion of mercy and compassion, and that the Islamic community was like the one body, and she said: “Muhammad came to warn the people of Makkah and the surrounding areas, and he called them to create a more just and dignified society in which the mercy of the poor, orphans, widows and the oppressed. Islam came to people with a moral and social message The effect is that we are all equal before God, and we must improve the treatment of people, sympathize with them, and be fair among them. ” The observatory stated that Armstrong talked about the issue of jihad in a book entitled "Muhammad: The Biography of the Prophet", saying: "In the West they describe the Prophet Muhammad as a military leader carrying a sword to impose Islam, but the reality is completely different. The original meaning of the word jihad is not (Holy War)," Rather, it is the physical, moral, spiritual, and intellectual effort, and the Arabic language contains many words that express armed struggle such as the words of war, conflict, battle, and killing, which the Qur'an would have used if war was the main means to achieve the goal, but instead of It chose a more general and expressive term that includes semantics Capacity, namely jihad, Regularization named one of the most important explanations of jihad, which must be submitted to the West in a clear and unambiguous, after turning to jihad ratio accused by every Muslim, without understanding its meanings ».
He mentioned that she spoke about the fairness of Islam for a woman and the morals of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, in dealing with her, and she said: “Muhammad always stood by the rights of women, and when his beloved wife (Khadija) died, he was very sad for her, and he missed her throughout his life.”
Broad knowledge
The Al-Azhar Observatory for Combating Extremism considered that the English writer Karen Armstrong’s fairness to Islam and the Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, came as a result of a wide awareness that realized with him what many Western thinkers, intellectuals and writers could not comprehend, as well as the truth behind the texts of Islam, its tolerant legislation, and its strong teachings, Its fair and just constitution, the history of its noble prophet, and the biography of the first companions of the companions.